Here are the best articles from across the web that I can find on using stories and storytelling in business.

And visit my website for more information about my speaking, writing, coaching, consulting, and workshops at www.juststoryit.com

Karen Dietz's insight:

Editorial Statement For This Collection:

Thank you for visiting this curation of articles on business storytelling. I've chosen them because they actually make a contribution to our knowledge and wisdom about stories, show us how to work with stories in leadership, org culture, key business functions, and the like.

I weed out all the junk. And besides, who needs another post in why storytelling is important?? Where's the beef?? We want the meat!

I'm the author of the bestselling book Business Storytelling For Dummies (with Lori Silverman) and an original in the field of business storytelling. Based on my 20+ years of biz story experience, (plus a PhD in Folklore) I've written reviews of each article to share what I like best, what you can get from reading the article, or what may be missing in the article.

How To Find A Topic:Click on the Filter icon above (look for the 'funnel' shape), and view the tags. Select one that interests you, or type in a keyword in the search box. All the articles with that tag or keyword will appear.

I may occasionally review an article that I think is problematic as a way to educate us all, although most I will simply pass over. If you wonder if I've seen an article that is not included here, send me a message at linkedin.com/in/karendietz and I'll respond.

How To Suggest An Article: If you find an article you think I'll be interested in, click the 'Suggest' button above, past the URL of the article, and I will receive it. Or write me a comment with the URL by clicking on 'Reactions' at the bottom of any article. You will see where can post a comment, which I will also receive.

I trust you find many great insights and tips here. Many thanks for visiting and enjoy the articles!

And I hope you will also visit my websitefor more tips and tools, and to sign up for my newsletter to receive your free"What The Heck Is A Story?!" guide. Don't forget to connect with me on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn, too. See you around the storytelling 'hood.

Some leaders make change look easy. While most strive to drive change through persuasion, they stoke our imaginations and inspire us to embrace daring new visions. How do they do it? Is there a secret formula or are they just lucky? The simple answer is yes. But their luck isn’t random. They create it from the inside out using a step-by-step process that anyone can learn. This article is the first installment of an ongoing series in which John Marshall Roberts will share this “secret formula” for becoming a transitional leader.

It's been a wild ride coaching and training leaders in business storytelling. Over the years, here are the 11 amazing ROIs I've received as a business storyteller. You will receive these same gives as you too, master business storytelling.

Karen Dietz's insight:

Of course, there are hard and soft ROIs your business will experience with business storytelling.

But hardly anyone talks about the ROIs you will personally gain from mastering business storytelling. So I spent some time putting this blog post together, talking just about these benefits.

After 14+ years of writing hundreds of investor pitches that raised hundreds of millions of dollars — here’s the winning formula! When you see about 50 pitch decks a week over 14 years, you see A LOT…

Karen Dietz's insight:

What a great pitch deck that follows the structure of a story!

We've known for quite awhile that when pitching your company to funders, you've got to tell your story -- of the problem, solution, your biz plan, benefits, etc.

But how do you put it all together using narrative structure? Well, here's your easy to follow guide. After reviewing dozens of these over the years, this one will definitely work for you and bring in those bucks (as long as your product, solution, benefits are spot on).

Regis McKenna, Silicon Valley’s cultural shaman, explains why many startups (*cough* Uber) find it hard to live up to their brand stories.

Karen Dietz's insight:

What a fab post about branding, corporate narratives, and what makes them successful

As Regis McKenna says, brand is a memory. He's getting at the dynamics of the story experience here, and the impact of story on corporate culture -- not simplistic messaging. What I love about this article are the points he makes about tech titans like Apple, Intel, Toyota and others who have a corporate narrative that reflects who they are.

I also like how he points to HP as a company that lost its narrative, and lost its way in the marketplace.

There are many more insights here about startup stories, serial entrepreneurs, pivoting your story when needed, and the link between corporate narratives and success.

What a fab post about branding, corporate narratives, and what makes them successful

As Regis McKenna says, brand is a memory. He's getting at the dynamics of the story experience here, and the impact of story on corporate culture -- not simplistic messaging. What I love about this article are the points he makes about tech titans like Apple, Intel, Toyota and others who have a corporate narrative that reflects who they are.

I also like how he points to HP as a company that lost its narrative, and lost its way in the marketplace.

There are many more insights here about startup stories, serial entrepreneurs, pivoting your story when needed, and the link between corporate narratives and success.

Writer Emily Esfahani Smith has dedicated her latest book to answering that question, and an entire chapter to the role of storytelling. She interviewed our Artistic Director, Catherine Burns, to learn about the story crafting process.

Karen Dietz's insight:

Here's what I like about this post -- it shares a true story about how transformative telling your story can be.

The premise of the article is to talk about the book The Power Of Meaning by Emily Esfahani Smith, which I just bought. Both the story and the book explain how being coached in telling your stories can radically change your world.

I've experienced this with every single coaching client I've worked with since I began coaching leaders in storytelling in 2001.

A growing number of people have been connecting the dots across issues ranging from political corruption and biased corporate media to anti-science propaganda promoted by the fossil fuel industry and…

Karen Dietz's insight:

Part of my Transformational Storytelling System for businesses and leaders focuses on the ability to use storytelling to transform yourself, your company, your community -- or bigger systems like the world.

In order to be effective in transforming culture/community/world, awareness needs to be built around the narratives regarding business, economics, debt, power, etc. that we are all immersed in.

Here's a blog post that really starts talking about these narratives, offers ideas for creating shifts, and an approach to use. It's just an overview, but there are links to follow and explore more.

Want to make a bigger impact and leave a lasting legacy? Then dig into this article. Just be prepared to confront the uncomfortable...

This relates to what we have discussed in class about culture because it mentions that the people are separated into different categories that are set by wealth and also by what the believe. I believe this article is very insightful about what the true meaning of proverty being reduced was just a fix. It is set at a superficial level. Also it talks about how it will have a "design science" for social change which i find very intriguing.

We are all a part in our culture and this really relates to our chapter. I thought that this article had a good message that we are a part in our culture. This is an obvious thought but a true one. We can make changes if we work hard enough. This relates to our unit because we are learning about different cultures and everyone there is a part of it.

Is it possible to narrate a story with social media posts that are supposed to be short and sweet? Yes! Here're 20 creative social media storytelling ideas.

Karen Dietz's insight:

In all my years of curating, I've looked at tons of articles promoting storytelling on social media. The problem? The posts are not really about storytelling. They are about photo sharing, 140-character opinions, posting links, and anything else you can think of. There's been mention of your collective tweets/posts/photos adding up to "your story" -- but that's a vague notion at best. None of this is really helpful.

Finally Alfred Lua from Buffer has written an intelligent piece that really does talk about storytelling -- yes, real stories -- and how to do it on different social media platforms. Yay!

Go grab these ideas and start having a field day sharing your stories.

Stories enable us to build personality and create a connection with consumers. But can we actually tell a story on social media? Is it possible to narrate a story with social media posts that are supposed to be short and sweet?

It turns out there are many ways to use social media for storytelling!

Here's a fab Origin Story about the iPhone for your Friday/weekend reading.

It's a bit long, but fascinating. There's so much more to the story than you can imagine. Secrecy, drama, and surprises are all included. Plus it's a good history lesson in innovation, and really how new ideas become reality.

What do I like? I like the simple way the author lays out the structure of an effective presentation.

What don't I like? One of the 6 steps is "include a story." But if you look at all the steps, the ENTIRE presentation becomes a story -- which is way better. The author completely missed this.

This points to 2 things to remember when putting together a presentation that influences others:

Structure your entire presentation as a story using these steps

Include at least 1 quick story about a client & their results (or a product/service story) somewhere in your narrative presentation.

In other words, do both!

Oh, and BTW -- I don't like the word "persuasion' in general. That's because persuasion is often about manipulation ("eat your broccoli and you can have dessert"). Influence is about shifting mindsets by offering experiences. Stories are experiences :)

It’s a well-documented paradox of modern relationships: Our digital tools allow us to connect in ways that feel both intimate and distant. We can be reached at all times and across great distances, but the ties that bind us are superficial. Quick updates (even the occasional humblebrag) are better than radio silence when th

As promised, here's the second post I recently found about anecdotes versus storytelling.

I found this piece quite intriguing because it points to a possible decline in storytelling in favor of sharing quick anecdotes. What I like however are the tips for how to really share a story in conversation. Great stuff!

Anecdotes have their place, but never share an anecdote when a real story is called for (and that's way more often than you think!)

When you need to involve and enthuse clients with the projects you are working on together, video can be a far more effective presentation tool than the trusty PDF or PowerPoint. Made by Many's Alex Harding shares how they use video to tell product stories

Most leaders and companies are only going to be mildly successful with storytelling. Results are lackluster or don't last. Sometimes it results in "Oh, we tried that here. It didn't work." Find out why and what to do about it.

Karen Dietz's insight:

Not every business storytelling program will be successful. And I've heard too many comments from companies like "Oh, we tried that here...it didn't work."

So what does make business storytelling successful? In this blog post I spell it out exactly. Don't waste time, money, and effort because you don't know how to be successful.

Time to get your story on based around success principles. I hope these tips make a difference for you.

I only have 5 seats left for my CEO/Sr. Exec Story Strategy workshop next Wed. afternoon here in San Diego.

Follow the link for more info or to register. If you want on the list for a personal invitation for the next San Diego event -- or the virtual workshop -- go to http://www.juststoryit.com/contact and send me a note.

Think of the last time you were completely immersed in a particular activity. You lost track of time; your concentration was at its maximum; it was instantly clear what to do next and how; all the…

Karen Dietz's insight:

Here's a quick, but really good article on the significance of flow states and improved leadership.

What's a flow state? As the author Evan Sinar says, it's "total absorption in the task at hand; the task taking precedence over everything else, and actively working on the task itself becomes its own reward."

We've all had these types of experiences where we are 'in the zone' and we lose sense of time. Productivity and creativity soars when we are in a flow state.

Sinar discusses why flow states for leadership are important, companies who are focusing on this as part of their leadership development, and how to set up flow state experiences.

Here's my addition -- for years I've noticed that when a person is immersed in telling a story, it's actually inducing a little mini-flow state. The higher the risk (i.e. a big presentation), the more intense the flow state.

The more you develop your storytelling skills, you are actually at the same time building your flow state muscles. The more you experience flow states, the easier it is to trigger them.

When you meet someone for the first time or reconnect with an old friend or go to a dinner party what takes place? Think of any situation where you are interacting with others. We share an anecdote…

Karen Dietz's insight:

Here is a fab post that list 7 little known -- but very powerful -- articles on why business storytelling works. Each post has its own unique perspective from different fields. Taken together it's a treasure trove.

Enjoy digging into these posts and keeping them handy. I know I learned a few things while reading them.

Here is a fab post that list 7 little known -- but very powerful -- articles on why business storytelling works. Each post has its own unique perspective from different fields. Taken together it's a treasure trove.

Enjoy digging into these posts and keeping them handy. I know I learned a few things while reading them.

Could it help artists sell anything ?Here is a fab post that list 7 little known -- but very powerful -- articles on why business storytelling works. Each post has its own unique perspective from different fields. Taken together it's a treasure trove. Enjoy digging into these posts and keeping them handy. I know I learned a few things while reading them.

"Storytelling helps us make sense of our lives and the world around us. They are an incredibly effective method of finding and sharing meaning and context. Mary Catherine Bateson, writer and cultural anthropologist, believes that, “The human species thinks in metaphors and learns through stories.” We are hardwired for stories because we have been telling them for centuries."

History shows us that narratives play an important role in market behaviour. But new research shows that all it takes is a simple story that matches our preconceived notions.

Karen Dietz's insight:

Here's a fascinating article demonstrating very clearly how storytelling shapes our thoughts about the economy and marketplaces.

Solid research is shared that shows how narrative drives how we think, feel, and act regarding the economy.

It's a cool piece. As the author Brendan Markey-Towler says. "The financial markets are not driven by the “mechanics” of interest rates and money alone. They are driven by one of the most ancient traditions of humanity – stories." People ignore the power of economic and financial stories at their peril.

The writer of the article is from Australia, but the principles remain the same no matter what country you live in.

Want to get smarter about finance, our economy, political policies, and how to respond? Then get these insights into your brain.

Mastercard’s global chief marketing and communications officer, Raja Rajamannar, says the brand has shifted its focus from storytelling to story-making.

Karen Dietz's insight:

Well, what a load of malarky. Of course the headline caught my eye. Storytelling is now dead??!!

I dug into the article and realized how uninformed these CMO's views are.

First, the CMO is equating storytelling with messaging. Yes, 1-way messaging is not as effective as it used to be, which is why he says it's 'dead'. What he doesn't realize is that storytelling is a 2-way street.

Another point he makes is that people want experiences, not storytelling (which is messaging in his mind). What he has no clue about is that stories ARE experiences! They are mini-simulations for listeners.

When he says Mastercard is now all about focusing on customers creating experiences for themselves, he's really saying that he wants customers to have great experiences with the brand that they can then tell stories about.

So storytelling is still incredibly important for Mastercard -- but the CMO doesn't think so.

It's junk 'knowledge' like this that hampers companies from really leveraging business storytelling and gaining powerful results. It's crazy that a Chief Marketing Officer is so clueless. Read this post and weep -- and avoid this kind of thinking like the plague.

I respectfully disagree with the Mastercard CMO who say's "Storytelling is Dead".

So here is the deal. We are living at a time when each of us has the amazing power of the smart device in a briefcase, pocket or more likely grasp tightly in our hand. Smart devices have made today's consumer the most empowered consumer ever. Today's consumer has the answer to virtually any question they might ask about any buying decision they might be considering at their fingertips. The truth about the empowered consumer is she is still very engaged by compelling storytelling. Why, because she is human!

Since the beginning of time, humans have been wired to respond to STORY. Story can call us to take action, story is used to govern, story works because story has the power to change the biology of us humans.

Neuroscientist studying story, tell us their research shows when we hear happy, empathetic or stressful stories our body releases a different hormone for each story type. So, we have scientific proof that story has the ability to change the biology in humans.

Story has not lost it's ability to affect the hormones that flow through our bloodstream, as such story has not lost it's ability to call us to action. Our easy access to information and our ability to at the drop of a hat produce our own compelling stories, is what's new. We have become pretty good producers of stories and perhaps because of our always on existence we have become a wee bit story jaded.

The way humans respond to story has not changed. Story remains a powerful force for humans to reckon with.

So, is storytelling dead? NO.

Has the way an audience intrinsically responds to story changed? NO, humans are wired to respond to story.

Do audiences expect more from the modern day storytellers? YES! Today we want to be collaborators and co-creators of the brand story.

We've come a long way from the days of stone tablets, quill pens and the Guttenberg Press. The technology for telling stories may constantly evolve yet as long as we are human (vs. augmented humans) story will have the powerful impact it always has.

In the investing world, stories can prove especially dangerous, and can even serve to kick start a multitude of other firmly embedded behavioral biases, , investors, personal finance, banking, private equity

Karen Dietz's insight:

I can hardly believe that I'm curating this article on how not to get sucked into stories!. But here it is.

With claims of "fake news", lies, paid protesters, and the like making today's headlines I think we are all being confronted with questions about what's real, authenticity, and better ways of being human beings. The dynamic is called "over-storying" (1 story is being drowned out by another, and usually not in a good way).

Storytelling ethics and best practices are becoming more critical than ever before, particularly because they are being breached on a regular basis.

This post clearly explains distorted narratives about stock market investments, along with tips for how to avoid the stories. It's a quick and great read, and the same advice is applicable across the board.

The suggestions are in alignment with what I also teach in my workshops and coaching. And, if you want my storytelling best practices/ethics guide, you can download it here: http://www.juststoryit.com/free-tools-3

Every leader faces the challenge of leading their organization through change. To beat the high odds of failure during change, Dr. Robert Cialdini offers these insights for how leaders can "pre-suade" those they lead to commit to the journey of change.

Karen Dietz's insight:

If you click through to the actual article you will notice the headline is: "4 Ways Leaders 'Pre-suade" Others To Follow Them Through Difficult Change"

Sounds like info you don't want to miss! But what is "pre-suasion" anyway? It's a new term from influence guru Robert Cialdini. But what does it really mean??

Hard to tell from this post. What I see is that at its core, it's about knowing the dynamics of storytelling and story sharing. For example, one of the 4 ways in this post is honest conversations about the ups and downs of the proposed change -- as a way to build credibility for your vision. In reality, that's both storytelling, story evoking, and story listening. Not that the post or Cialdini recognizes the full dynamic.

The rest of the "ways" are familiar -- except for #3: timing is everything. That's a cool little piece of info about when in the year/quarter/month/week to launch a change effort that I'm going to add into my toolkit.

Bottom line: "pre-suasion" is new jargon. But linking storytelling to change is much more complicated than the article suggests. Based on my years of experience with org change, I have written articles about storytelling + change, and have a chart that goes along with it. If you are interested in both, go to my webpage and send me an email making the request: http://www.juststoryit.com/contact/

Change is a constant -- let's learn how to really use the dynamics of storytelling to ease our way through it.

After bringing us Pong and Chuck E. Cheese's, the legendary entrepreneur built a startup factory that tackled 21st-century ideas with 1980s tech.

Karen Dietz's insight:

Origin Stories come in all shapes and sizes. The post before was all an ad telling Anheuser-Busch's Origin Story. This article is much longer, going into depth about Nolan Bushnell, the origin of Atari, Chuck E Cheese, and other tech companies he founded (yes, the pizza chain had tech roots!).

This just goes to show several points:

Even a long story can be engaging

Each Origin Story is unique -- no 2 companies have the same story

Your Origin Story helps define who you are and what makes you unique in the marketplace

Enjoy reading this post. Now I just wish I knew more about the Anheuser-Busch Origin story!

Sharing your scoops to your social media accounts is a must to distribute your curated content. Not only will it drive traffic and leads through your content, but it will help show your expertise with your followers.

Integrating your curated content to your website or blog will allow you to increase your website visitors’ engagement, boost SEO and acquire new visitors. By redirecting your social media traffic to your website, Scoop.it will also help you generate more qualified traffic and leads from your curation work.

Distributing your curated content through a newsletter is a great way to nurture and engage your email subscribers will developing your traffic and visibility.
Creating engaging newsletters with your curated content is really easy.